situatedFabrications explores design through generative fabrication methods that utilise situated robotic protocols to engage in real-time sensing and fabrication behaviours. As a behaviour-based approach to 3D Printing in concrete, robot operations negotiate pre-determined design intention, real-time feedback and encoded algorithmic design behaviours in order to produce novel Additively Manufactured works. The seminar focused on the design and prototyping of a concrete architectural screen partial mockup. Digital and physical processes will aim to embody spatial, formal and material affects that arise from their integrated design and production process. Messy and engaging; these processes involve novel forms of participation and in-direct control, and aim to challenge the explicit nature of established robotic fabrication procedures.

A group of quadcopters design and build a three-dimensional woven structure in real-time utilizing SLAM for localisation. The quadcopters operate in an autonomous and choreographed manner, adapting to the spatial specifics of this environment, which although indoors, was not undertaken utilizing global positioning(such as Vicon or GPS). By fabricating the instalation in-situ, a 3-dimensional weave of threads can be constructed that would not be achievable with conventional factory weaving machines. The ability for aerial robots to adapt construction activities to any siteoffers up new opportunities for architectural design. The design research exploits the structural capability of tension cables to span over large distances, both horizontally and vertically, while maintaining structural integrity. The research explores the possibility of combining structure and space within one design system that is based on principles of connectivity, weaving and bundling, where design and construction are specific to site, and take place in parallel.

AML-UPENN's affiliate lab, AML-UCL is undertaking research into Aerial Additive Building Manufacturing(Aerial ABM. Aerial ABM is a UK EPSRC funded research that will develop an aerial robotic construction system that enables aerial robots to 3D print building structures autonomously. Additive Building Manufacturing (ABM), is already being trialed in many parts of the world and involves the use of large robots on a building site to 3D Print (extrude) building materials to construct buildings. The research aims to miniaturize ABM and provide it with aerial capabilities so that it can be more mobile, and able to manufacture complex building structures while adapting to diverse site scenarios. This miniaturization will also enable parallel production, where swarms of aerial printers working together could potentially reduce construction time and enable safer construction in hard-to access and dangerous conditions; often faced in construction work at-height and post-disaster reconstruction. The project is a collaboration between the AML at University College of London, Imperial College, University of Bath, and the Architectural Association School of Architecture.

SwarmRelief forms part of a series of works exploring Behavioural Production; which seeks to compress design and production within one creative process. The relief is designed partially through generative multi-agent computational processes executed on a computer, and partially through algorithms executed in real-time directly within the fabrication process. This real-time code determines the precise behaviour of a CNC machine’s trajectory and velocity in which it carves out a series of curves. These curves are qualitatively enhanced through the algorithms engagement with the machining process that differentiates its behaviour throughout time and space. The overall affect of the piece arises from this process and describes a detail of fabrication not easily replicated without engagement with the real-time operation of the machine. Fusing design and production within one creative process opens up design freedoms not possible through computational design processes alone, and enables design to embrace production contingencies such as reducing machine-time as a productive constraint that drives competitive innovation within design.

AML-PENN

Autonomous Manufacturing LabPENNDesign | University of PennsylvaniaAutonomous Manufacturing Lab (AML-PENNDesign) explores the integration of design and production within robotic processes of building manufacturing. The interdisciplinary AML lab aims to develop innovative methods of autonomous and semi-autonomous bespoke fabrication that leverage real-time robotics, computation, sensor and computer vision technologies within generative design processes. AML-PENNDesign is part of PennDesign's Advanced Research and Innovation Lab (ARI).

Advanced Research & Innovation Lab & PennDesign Robotics LabThe Advanced Research & Innovation Lab (ARI) brings together the combined expertise of PennDesign faculty members with state-of-the art fabrication, measurement and modeling technologies. ARI is led by Professor and Chair of Architecture Winka Dubbeldam and comprises a wide variety of research groups: the Autonomous Manufacturing Lab (Assistant Professor of Architecture Robert Stuart-Smith), the Polyhedral Structures Lab or PSL (Assistant Professor of Architecture Masoud Akbarzadeh), and the Baroque Topologies Lab (Associate Professor of Architecture Andrew Saunders), with additional initiatives in development. As part of multi-year plan to provide additional tools and facilities to support the scholarship of PennDesign faculty and students, ARI opens up vast new territories for innovation and places the School at the forefront of applied and speculative research in several domains.

University of Pennsylvania School of Design (PennDesign)PennDesign prepares students to address complex sociocultural and environmental issues through thoughtful inquiry, creative expression, and innovation. As a diverse community of scholars and practitioners, we are committed to advancing the public good–both locally and globally–through art, design, planning, and preservation.